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Suzy Q.

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2 Reviews by Suzy

  • AbeBooks

3/29/19

I have used ABE for about ten years. There are a considerable number of corporate sellers on the site, but that's true, unfortunately, of all sites these days. I try to stick with small business sellers. Keeping communication open is a good idea, which is true with any book seller.

I enjoy shopping on ABEBooks. I recommend it.

  • PsychCentral

12/26/18

Notice the ratio of bad reviews to good ones here. That should tell you everything. Here is my story.

For 3 years and 9 months I was an active, daily poster on Psych
Central. The first year was so-so; there were a few long-time members
Who were not welcoming; they clearly didn't want new people entering the closed circle. Those members often claimed that they were easily
Triggered. They used the "ignore" option to excess, I thought. But, okay, I respected their decisions, so I avoided them and focused
On establishing connections with other members. I achieved that; I found some members who were kind. Unfortunately, many of them didn't stick around long. Most didn't post regularly, but would "drop in" now and then. I wondered why they weren't on the forum regularly - or why so many left altogether; sadly, a couple of members suicided during my time on the forum.

About a year into my membership the mods began harassing me. I'm a
Supportive person. I truly care about people. I believe in self-growth
By learning to cope with my mental illness, and I believe that when appropriate, I can
Support others in their healing and self-growth by kindly challenging them. But on PC the only type of posting permitted is to provide robotic support.

Each board is moderated by a specific person or team. If a certain
Member (almost without exception someone who is a creative and independent thinker) offends a mod the harassment begins. There is no one on the site who "moderates the mods", therefore any one of the mods can take any action s/he wants to towards any member.

Into my second year on PC several mods began bullying me
And threatening me with forum punishment on a nearly daily basis. Whenever I saw that I had a PM I would feel anxious... is it a PM from a mod, please, don't let it be another PM from a mod...
But because I had made some friends (many who came and went, and two who
Turned out to have fake identities - not exactly helpful for someone
Struggling with mental illness) on the forum I remained.

By the time I had been a member for a bit over 2 years bullying by the
Mods (mods are peers - they also have mental illnesses) became nearly
Unbearable. I felt specifically targeted by 4 mods. I say "targeted" because I
Frequently saw posts that were crude (sometimes sexually),
Inappropriate, and - worst of all - posts that were made by members with
Fake profiles and stories. Those posts usually went unchecked.

The "frauds" were usually on the forum to scam concerned, naive, and
Lonely members out of $$$. For example, there was one very obvious scammer in
Particular; when I brought the situation to the attention of the mods
AND to the forum CEO, one thread by the scammer was eventually closed, yet the person's account remained open. The scammer had stolen a photo from a news story
About a teen girl who had been murdered in Texas, and used that photo on her
Profile page, claiming that the photo was of herself. OH MY GOD. Horrific, correct?

Although another member actually provided a link to the article about the murdered girl NOTHING WAS DONE. That profile pic remains on the scammer's page to this day. Yes, horrific - and typical of the way PC is mis-managed.

Annnd... the mods continued to bully and harass me by removing
My posts, threatening suspension, or of being banned from the site. I was regularly placed on "moderation" (i. E., none of my posts could appear without a mod approving them).

Finally, 3 years into my membership I was given a temporary suspension
(two weeks) without a valid reason. When I returned I was placed
On indefinite "moderation". The bullying continued. My posts were
Deleted, again without valid reasons. One mod told me that my "bipolar
Disorder" was causing me "to break forum guidelines" (!). But the truth
Was that I was stable- at
That time.

Long after I should have left the forum, long after the bullying by mods
Had become abusive, I was permanently banned at my own request - a
Request I insisted on so that I could entirely break connection with the
Cult that is PC.

Unfortunately, the way I had been treated by PC admin so obviously
Replicated my own childhood abuse that I became panicky and depressed:
IRL I began to unravel. I had not been inpatient for 28 years, but 3
Weeks after being banned from PC I became suicidal and was hospitalized.
Far too high of a price to pay for a little bit of online support.

In addition to the horribly insufficient mod situation the CEO misleads
Members. He claims to be a psychologist. The truth is this: he has never
Been a practicing psychologist. His REAL business is BUSINESS: he is an
Entrepreneur. After graduating college, he founded
PC and holds his position on his forum as CEO. In other words, the man
Known as (I cannot use his name) pulls his salary as CEO of a website he created by duping
Members
And prospective members into believing that he has been, or is, a
Practicing psychotherapist.
Creepy. Wrong. UNETHICAL.

If you have a mental illness I strongly suggest that you stay away from
Psych Central. Seek support elsewhere, in some other way. Getting hooked
(addicted) to the forum is too easy and you will eventually emerge from the place
With serious problems. The best action that happened for me was when I
Found the inner strength to demand to be banned from that nightmare
Forum. I emerged with some serious psychological damage as a result of
How badly I had been bullied by mods, and how the CEO refused to take any
Action against that mistreatment.

Finally, after almost 4 years, I have lost that source of horrible stress.

Someone in power needs to intervene, even remove, the site. Oh- and
Don't be duped into donating to the forum to receive "special
Privileges". I did. What a foolish mistake.

Suzy Has Earned 14 Votes

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